The 39 Best Battlecruisers in Magic Ranked

Last updated on August 16, 2026

You Look Upon the Tarrasque | Illustration by Kekai Kotaki

At some point we’ve all made a deck full of powerful Magic spells without enough attention given to our deck's mana curve. Putting together a pile of battlecruisers is something that some of us move on from, but others (myself included) still enjoy the thrill from time to time.

Over many years there have been plenty of these humongous creatures, so let’s take a walk through some of the biggest and baddest, shall we?

What Are Battlecruisers in MTG?

Maelstrom Wanderer | Illustration by Thomas M. Baxa

Battlecruisers have a bit of a loose definition in Magic – any type of creature could be considered a battlecruiser if it's big and impactful enough, so for our purposes I’m looking at 8+ mana value creatures. I’m also going to be limiting my search to creatures without intrinsic ways to reduce their cost. This means that I’m not considering something like Metalwork Colossus as you’re not meant to be tapping 11 mana to cast it!

#39. Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

It’s now almost a joke that we see Zetalpa, Primal Dawn so much in Commander products, but this huge elder dinosaur is there for good reason. It’s an impressive white creature, and all the keyword abilities working together (while still being a card you can beat!) is a great learning point for many new players. Despite the disdain that some people look at Zetalpa with, it has its fans and a well-earned place in those Commander precons!

#38. Ulamog’s Dreadsire

Eldrazi are the battlecruisers of choice for many, though some opponents dislike that annihilator chews through their board (with good reason). Ulamog's Dreadsire provides a nice middle ground as a game-dominating threat that’s perfectly fair—at least, as fair as a 10/10 that spits out 10/10s can be. Mix it with Terror of the Peaks for best results.

#37. Maelstrom Wanderer

You'll see cascade come up a couple of times on this list, and Maelstrom Wanderer is both one of the best cascade cards and one of the best cascade commanders. You get this huge elemental, two more big things, then get to swing with all of them.

It’s an amazingly fun card to tap out for, and is among the best Temur commanders overall.

#36. Akroma, Angel of Wrath

Everyone loves a keyword, and possibly nobody more than Akroma, Angel of Wrath. Well, this white angel likes keywords. The very definition of “keyword soup“, Akroma gets in there the turn it comes down, then is incredibly difficult to attack into. Sure, it can be taken out by a board wipe, but that’s not the point, is it?

#35. Krang, Utrom Warlord

Big chunky artifacts like Krang, Utrom Warlord get a pass on their mana costs because it’s so easy to discount artifacts or to pop them back into play from the graveyard. Once on the battlefield, this super-charged Krang simply smashes, and it makes it easier to smash with your other artifact creatures, too.

#34. Absolute Virtue

The lore behind Absolute Virtue is honestly more interesting than the card we got in Final Fantasy. But being uninteresting doesn’t stop this from being obnoxiously hard to deal with. Though funnily enough, this gets caught up by most sweepers and edicts, so it’s not as unkillable as it reads.

#33. Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Even on a list of dominantly big creatures, Kozilek, the Great Distortion is one of the biggest, clocking in at an impressive 12 power and toughness. A rare creature with colorless mana in its casting cost, this may be the least popular Eldrazi Titan, but that still leaves a good amount of space for a sweet creature. The counter ability is quite tricky to use but equally difficult to play around.

#32. Zacama, Primal Calamity

One of the biggest, baddest dinosaurs in all of Magic, Zacama, Primal Calamity is almost an auto-include when looking at battlecruisers. Not only does Zacama have an ETB trigger that helps stabilize, it also provides some flexibility in how it stabilizes, as well as getting good use of its activated abilities as the game goes on. If your opponent casts a Zacama, you better have a plan for it!

#31. Apex Altisaur

Apex Altisaur is a pretty cool green board wipe disguised as a creature. The best use case here is to take out three or four small but problematic creatures, but things get pretty silly if you give it indestructible. Then it keeps fighting until there’s nothing left on the field. Add in lifelink to that fun little mix, and you also gain a bunch of life too. I really enjoy designs like this, which are subtly two different spells in one.

#30. Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger

The Praetor cycles are great examples of battlecruiser Magic cards, and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger is one of the more annoying green creatures to play against. There was plenty of reason just to make it a traditional big green beater, but stunning lands is so frustrating. Really makes Vorinclex feel like a bad guy.

#29. Progenitus

One of the coolest bits of text to ever appear on a Magic card has to be “protection from everything”. Although this is far from making Progenitus an unbeatable threat, it make you think outside the box to beat it. The prohibitive mana cost also helps to cement it in the minds of Johnnys, Timmys, and Vorthos alike, and almost all Magic players can remember what it felt like to set eyes on this legendary hydra avatar for the first time.

#28. Ardyn, the Usurper

Stapling God-Pharaoh's Gift to a creature is a recipe for success. Ardyn, the Usurper steals all the best creatures from any player’s graveyard and stuffs them with keywords. Ardyn is relatively small by battlecruiser standards, but the effect more than makes up for it; it doesn’t take long before this dominates the game while it turns every graveyard into your personal resource. It’s especially strong in Commander when it comes down after the first board wipe.

#27. The Tarrasque

Although some people were a bit disappointed that The Tarrasque wasn’t quite the world-ending threat that the D&D lore makes it out to be, it’s still a hefty green creature with some cool text on it. Ward is essentially hexproof with flavor text, which makes it so much cooler than hexproof ever could be. While the “real” Tarrasque should possibly be higher on the list, this version still deserves to be here.

#26. Terastodon

Terastodon looks like it’s just a 9/9 for 8 mana, but it’s so much more than that. Its ability can take out problematic non-creature permanents, including lands. In a pinch, it turns some of your spare stuff into 3/3s that you can then swing with. It’s super versatile, as well as being a big elephant to stomp your opponents to a pulp with.

#25. Armaggon, Future Shark

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wasn’t trying to break our brains with most of its designs. Case in point, Armaggon, Future Shark, a nearly braindead triple-Nekrataal with flash and the body to eat something else mid-combat.

#24. Ureni, the Song Unending

Ureni, the Song Unending does a pretty good job of clearing the board when it enters, though most creatures that do something similar aren’t 10/10 fliers with double protection from common removal colors. Run this as your commander and your opponents are going to have a tough time keeping anything in play.

#23. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur

Old Jin is often the butt of the joke in the Phyrexian praetor cycles, as it almost always has a prohibitive mana cost for not very much. However, in formats where you can get it down, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur is an absolute beating and a pain for your opponents. If your opponents don’t have cards, they’re going to find it hard to deal with this! Plus, you get to draw cards on your end step! I personally love the flash here, allowing you to slip it in on your opponent’s end step and causing them to discard everything they have!

#22. Famished Worldsire

Famished Worldsire has a fascinating design. Devouring lands then putting more into play is such an interesting take on a big green creature that produces lands. It's amazing top-end in landfall decks or decks with cards like Korvold, Fae-Cursed King and Titania, Protector of Argoth that reward you for sacrificing lands en masse.

#21. It That Betrays

Some cards have names that sound impressive, or descriptive, or whatever. It That Betrays hits on a different axis and just calls out to me. The combination of annihilator with an effect to steal what your opponents sacrifice for yourself is a chef’s kiss of a design. Full credit goes to the design team for getting the flavor of this Eldrazi on point in every way.

#20. Void Winnower

Void Winnower is a really cool design from one of the first Magic sets I ever played. If summed up in a single word, it would probably best be described as… odd. The effect here really throws off game plans, and if in doubt, just remember: You can’t even.

#19. Ancient Silver Dragon

Ancient Silver Dragon was one of the Baldur's Gate elder dragons that turned heads, because who doesn’t like drawing cards? Getting a constant Reliquary Tower effect to boot? It sounds like a good time to me. It's a massive flier on top of all that… what more do you want?

#18. Valgavoth, Terror Eater

Valgavoth, Terror Eater twists your opponents’ threats against them and allows you to steal all manner of cards—provided you don’t mind paying a little life. Which you shouldn’t. At no point in the history of Magic has paying life instead of mana been a fair trade, and that goes double for Valgavoth since it boasts a massive body with lifelink to help recoup your losses.

#17. Summon: Bahamut

Summon: Bahamut starts off exceptionally by destroying a permanent in addition to its massive body, and it only gets better. You can’t go wrong with a massive clock that destroys stuff and draws cards. This saga is notable as one of the few colorless battlecruisers that isn’t an Eldrazi, as the spaghetti monsters don’t fit everybody’s idea of a good time.

#16. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

The best thing about Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger (at least in my mind) is that it can win on multiple fronts. Your opponent can chump block it? No problem, you’ll mill them out in no time. They can’t even get around it with Gaea's Blessing effects, as it exiles their library. Exiling two target permanents on cast is pretty sweet, too, taking out problematic effects that could otherwise deal with it. If you like big beaters and tentacles, you might just want Ulamog!

#15. Utvara Hellkite

Utvara Hellkite gives you not one, not two, but a horde of dragons, as long as you already have a horde, of course! The best bit is that this red creature doesn’t need to attack itself, so in your deck full of expensive dragons, you can get a bunch for free, too!

#14. Griselbrand

Griselbrand held the title of best reanimation target in Magic for quite some time, and it still shows up as a backup to Archon of Cruelty and Atraxa, Grand Unifier, the latter of which only missed this list because it’s too cheap, despite being better than most other potential battlecruisers.

Griselbrand remains banned in Commander to this day, and it has nestled into Vintage Cube/Arena Powered Cube as a premium target for Animate Dead and friends.

#13. Apex Devastator

The gloves come off with Apex Devastator and we get quadruple cascade. It’s a simple design, which is great, but you can’t help but shake your head (while smiling) at just how big, dumb, and quite frankly fantastic this one is. Once on the battlefield it’s a vanilla 10/10, but by then you’ve already had your fun.

#12. Emrakul, the World Anew

Sometimes you don’t just want to win with your creatures, you want to win with the opposition’s team. That’s where Emrakul, the World Anew comes in. You can knock a single player out of the game by removing all their blockers or you can bulldoze your way through other boards. If you can muster the colorless mana to cast it for its madness cost, you can do some disgusting stuff at instant speed. Emrakul can even be a board wipe if you steal a board then flicker it.

#11. The Ur-Dragon

We’ve talked a lot about dragons so far, but The Ur-Dragon is the biggest and baddest one. When someone drops an Ur-Dragon deck onto the table, you know what you’re going to face. Flying beefers. No fuss. No muss. It’s not just a dragon. It’s The Dragon.

#10. Vilis, Broker of Blood

While the main draw (pardon the pun) of Vilis, Broker of Blood isn’t its ability to attack for a lot of damage, it’s still something this black demon can do, as well as drawing a bunch of cards to boot. You don’t want your deck to be made completely of big, dumb creatures (okay, maybe you do, no judgment here), but Vilis provides both roles, and it's one of the best commanders if you plan to play mono-black.

#9. Ulamog, the Defiler

The third iteration of Ulamog went nuts with the annihilator number, though it still doesn’t surpass the immediate impact and annihilator value on the original. Ulamog, the Defiler is missing a pivotal protection ability to take top honors, though the ward cost definitely hurts. This is one of the only Eldrazi that can rival the coveted annihilator 6 we’ve yet to get to….

#8. Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant

While the original Ghalta didn’t make the list due to its built-in cost reduction, the latest version of the big mama dino easily makes the top 10. Not only is Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant a “Big Timmy Dino”, it also allows you to cheat any other big beaters from your hand onto the battlefield, too! It’s pretty easy to win the game the turn Ghalta comes down, which isn’t something you can say about all of the cards on the list.

#7. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is one of the scarier Eldrazi, and that’s saying something. Not only does it put a beating on your opponent, but it also refills your hand when you cast it, meaning that if it’s answered you still get some fun from it. Kozilek is a strong card, even if the Titan itself does have a rather strangely shaped head….

#6. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is another Eldrazi Titan that overwhelms the board. Annihilator 4 does exactly what annihilator does, and it can get around some tricky removal thanks to indestructible. Give this baddie haste and you’ll have one very upset opponent. Although it’s not the last Eldrazi on today’s list, it’s still big, bad, and scary.

#5. Archon of Cruelty

While Archon of Cruelty is more likely to be cheated into play than most battlecruisers, there’s no rule saying you can’t tap eight lands to cast this archon! It makes its mark as soon as it enters, and it's basically game over if it ever gets to swinging.

#4. Blightsteel Colossus

Blightsteel Colossus is a big guy who can theoretically finish any game in a single hit, no matter how much life your opponent has left. It’s almost the very definition of a battlecruiser card, especially as its colorless color identity lets it be played basically everywhere. Poison counters are pretty controversial at casual tables, and Blightsteel is a big reason for that! Doesn’t stop it from being a sweet card, though.

#3. Avacyn, Angel of Hope

I wasn’t sure whether to put this as high on the list as I did, as it’s not a traditional big smashy card, but Avacyn, Angel of Hope is a big expensive angel with a pretty unique effect. You need a good way to get rid of an Avacyn from the battlefield, and by the time you’ve dug for that answer you may be finished. Yeah, this deserves its place here.

#2. Craterhoof Behemoth + Moonshaker Calvary

Craterhoof Behemoth is one of the best-known battlecruisers in Magic due to its ability to end games with such explosive fashion that you don’t need to do the math—they’re just dead, several times over. Moonshaker Cavalry doesn’t hit quite as hard since it doesn’t have haste, but flying makes it impossible for your opponents to block, so it ends games just as succinctly.

#1. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Here we are: the biggest, baddest battlecruiser there is, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Old Emmy is an icon for Timmys everywhere. Fifteen mana for a 15/15. So what if it can be taken down by 15 squirrels? By then you’ll have won anyway. So strong it’s banned in Commander, it’s one of the biggest and most iconic cards in all of Magic.

Best Battlecruiser Payoffs and Enablers

Before you add payoffs for your battlecruisers, you need to get them into play. The simplest answer and the one the average Commander deck reaches for is ramp. Be that mana dorks like Birds of Paradise, rocks like Worn Powerstone, or land-based ramp like Exploration and Cultivate, these are some of the most reliable ways to get your battlecruisers in play ahead of schedule.

If that’s not your style, you can cheat. Black decks have reanimation effects like Reanimate and Incarnation Technique to get battlecruisers from the graveyard, while green players might use Elvish Piper variants that put creatures into play for a low cost. Red decks have a couple variations on Sneak Attack, and blue gets Show and Tell. These are all excellent options to get your battlecruisers into play.

Once you have the means to cast or cheat your battlecruisers into play, you can start to look for payoffs, many of which have to do with size. Up the Beanstalk, Sarkhan's Unsealing, and Monstrous Vortex are just a few ways to reward yourself for casting large creatures. Once those ‘cruisers are in play, they often have enough power to enable cards like Terror of the Peaks, Furious Rise, and Garruk, Primal Hunter.

Polymorph effects go a long way to making these battlecruisers manifest onto the battlefield. They fall in line with the other cheat effects, just with different deckbuilding requirements. You’ll often see decks that run nothing but giant threats and some number of token generators, with the intention of firing off a Proteus Staff or Indomitable Creativity that never misses a massive target.

Wrap Up

Ulamog's Dreadsire | Illustration by Alexander Mokhov

That’s it! A full run-down of the biggest and best creatures that you just love tapping out for and swinging with! One of the things I enjoyed about putting this list together is how it spans such a huge swathe of Magic’s history, with some cards being timeless, but with new cards adding to the list of what we already have!

Have I missed any of your favorites? Any battlecruisers you want to advocate for? Let me know my biggest omissions down below in the comments or in the Draftsim Discord. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

See you next time!